


Hear the call to the Firewall

by Webtrinsic



Series: The Fantastic Four's MCU Origin, with lots of Johnny whump (S.1) [7]
Category: Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Fantastic Four (Movies), Fantastic Four (Ultimateverse)
Genre: Angry Johnny Storm, Angry Shuri, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bombing, Developing Friendships, Doctor Doom loves to monologue, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everett Ross is a good guy, F/M, Fear, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Everett Ross, Hurt Johnny Storm, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Shuri, I gave Johnny blue flames in this one lol, Plans in Motion, Protective Team, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:41:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Webtrinsic/pseuds/Webtrinsic
Summary: Doctor Doom begins his game of chess with a devastating blow.
Relationships: Ben Grimm & Reed Richards & Johnny Storm & Susan Storm, Everett Ross & Johnny Storm, Everett Ross & Shuri, Reed Richards/Susan Storm (Fantastic Four), Shuri & Johnny Storm
Series: The Fantastic Four's MCU Origin, with lots of Johnny whump (S.1) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665754
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	Hear the call to the Firewall

**Author's Note:**

> let me preface this with IM FUCKING SORRY
> 
> also I've decided this eight part series is legit getting a sequel series, so look forward because i got this all planned out and its gonna be crazy, also I'm trying to start college soon so don't be surprised if updates suck

There was something in the air that morning that told the Fantastic Four that their day would be anything but idle. Johnny had even taken to sliding on his suit underneath his clothes, trepidation for a fight making his fist hot.

His family seemed to share his sentiment as well, their suits neatly folded on the table as they went about making breakfast. Ben showed the least signs of worry, some days they simply got antsy so it was possible the ex-pilot was going on the assumption that there wasn’t actually a threat at hand. His tense shoulders still displayed some worry but it was distant, nothing that seemed too unusual for his gruff persona.

Also no one mentioned the collar of his suit sticking out of his shirt even though he knew they saw it. Worry did them well, not always but in this business it was clear it accounted for something.

Johnny decidedly avoiding picking at his empty plate's chipped edge and began to dance fire along his fingers like one would a coin. Content and mystified by the action, not realizing his family had begun to watch him just as entranced. 

“You're burning the pancakes dad,” Johnny called out, lifting his eyes only before focusing back on the task at hand. Ben folded back up his newspaper, giving the teen in front of him more attention and thankfully not outwardly reacting to Johnny’s usage of the word ‘dad’.

Reed snapped back to what he was doing as Susan got out the bacon, smirking when an idea came to mind. 

“Johnny, do you want to try cooking this?” 

Johnny practically flew out of his chair at the opportunity, a small part of his brain forgetting the impending doom seemingly looming over their heads. The bacon crackled and popped in the same manner as bone, a fight different than than any they've ever faced unknowingly upon them.

* * *

His adam’s apple bobbed as he slipped into the driver's seat, a noticeable clicking from underneath his seat keeping him still as his passenger side door opened, and someone who he knew not to be his friendly neighborhood pyromaniac took a seat.

If his life wasn’t on the line maybe he’d laugh because his slight peripheral of the man sitting next to him certainly did remind him of Robin Hood. 

“Mr. Ross,” the metallic voice had Everett’s eyes shutting momentarily in a mixture of fear and annoyance, a deep anger stewing lightly beneath; cautious not to boil over and send him out of his chair.

“Doctor Doom I suppose,” the words came out flat, Everett being overly cautious with even his breathing, knowing his survival depended on it. The metal coated head nodded, the man’s green hood making a noise as it swept across the roof of the car.

Everett knew the risk of his work, knew one day that it may very well kill him. It almost had. Even with that in mind, he had two mantras and each of their possible outcomes dancing on the back of his eyes making them suspiciously watery.

He could end the man here and now at his own expense. At the expense of giving his gaggle of teen’s someone to grieve, a thought he didn’t want to entertain but Everett tried to reassure he’d set the plan in motion to give them some actual friends who’d understand their plight.

On the other hand he could kill himself for nothing, Everett had worked with Tony Stark for god's sake, a genius with armor could make it out of an exploding vehicle with his mind and body intact. He alone could not.

His job left a lot to question when it came to humanity, making him feel small. None more so than the ones who started out like him and became something more, and he didn’t mean powers.  Everett could only hope the ones who’s ego outlived their mortal souls took in the humility that took every chance it could get to slap them in the face. This doctor could use a good slapping, that thought alone was enough to make him grin. The action not going unnoticed.

“No matter what you do, even if you kill yourself, you won’t kill me for I have death on my side,” Dr. Doom admonished, tutting with a menacing chuckle before turning in his seat. Reaching across, Everett set his jaw so he didn’t flinch while the man fished his phone from his coat pocket.  Even going so far as to grit his teeth when the man picked up his hand to unlock it.

“Thank you Mr. Ross, it’ll be a shame to see you go. You’d have made a great villain...well you have before. It seems the kids have made you soft,” Victor stepped out from the car leaving the blond to wallow in his last few seconds alive, unable to call for help without his phone and unable to move without blowing himself to smithereens. 

Everett accepted his fate, not missing it in the rearview mirror as the man lifted his hand wielding what he knew to be the detonator. It wasn’t hard to see Doctor Doom was a man of his word, and he’d just sealed his fate with that single sentence.

Letting a few tears slide down his cheeks, Everett Ross closed his eyes for the last time as the mad doctor pressed the button, sending him and his car up in flames.

* * *

After breakfast the Fantastic Four scattered, Susan and Reed in their room reading, Ben on the living room couch watching the news, a car bombing setting his back straight while Johnny sat in his room flipping through his collection of matchbooks.

He’d seen countless videos and heard hundreds of stories that when the phone rang you knew why, and with the ire already permeating the air, Johnny carefully set down his matchbooks and picked up his now ringing phone.  Someone was dead, _he knew_ , and it was only confirmed when Dr. Bruce Banner began to speak. Fury surely wouldn’t have called, neither should have the Hulk unless...Everett Ross was dead.

Tempering down the heat in his chest, more animal than human, heart howling with a pain Jonathan knew not to fear as the air let out of his throat came out as nothing more than a glowing blue flame.

“Have you let Shuri know?” He cut the older man off, the tears dripping down his cheeks steaming and evaporating with his heat.

“Why would we do that?” The Hulk asked seemingly perplexed, Johnny didn’t know why it hurt. It made sense the two didn’t know each other well, and if Everett had become Shuri’s confidant, it made sense he didn’t exactly broadcast it.

Hanging up the phone, Johnny scrolled to the one contact that’d been forwarded to him that he’d been too nervous to even attempt to reach out to. Even if he was going on autopilot, he was careful to turn on the speaker and place it on the desk. Not wanting to run the risk of burning it.

“I was waiting for you to call,” She sounded far too happy for the news she was about to hear, also her chastening tone would likely be something of a constant and he looked forward to it. If only their friendship didn’t have to start with such bad news.

“Everett’s dead,” he didn’t know how else to say it, drawing it out would have made his flaming hair reach the ceiling. His wallpaper began to curl and peel, the blue flames so distant and different from his usual warming orange glow.

Something on her end fell, maybe even the phone itself, but she sounded brokenly sincere when she finally responded.

“Thank you for telling me,”

“Of course,” Johnny assured all too softly, hoping she heard it. A flash of an insistent typing sound followed, he knew she was smart, had tech more advanced than any other country on earth that she was more than likely utilizing.

“They didn’t find any remnants of his phone, it was recently used too,” it was the wrong thing to say because it only gave Johnny more incentive to jump through the window, curtains be damned.

“I’d give you a location but we both know they’re already gone, they downloaded all of SHIELD’s files,” 

They both knew then who it was, who’d stolen their friend away, and Johnny couldn’t help but feel he was at fault. The tears on his face left ash in their wake, dusting his cheeks like sinister freckles.

Johnny didn’t know what to do with this information, this seemed like something to tell the government, or Reed, maybe even have Shuri tell her family. They were royalty, with some decent pull. Johnny figured he could still always call Fury, but the man likely already knew or had at least come to the same conclusion as they did.  Statistically it made more sense for Everett’s death having been calculated rather than random.

Heavy steps thundered towards his room, Ben’s booming voice hollering, “Johnny? Is everything alright?” He must have smelt the walls burning.

“Yeah, everythings fine,” he lied, swallowing the lump in his throat and sending the built up energy from his mouth and nostrils, smoking like a dragon and extinguishing the flames that had risen to the ceiling.

“Kid I think it would be best you open the door,” Ben advised and Johnny did, uncaring as he walked back over to his phone, seeing that the call had dropped, a single text lighting up the screen from the princess herself.

_ It’s not your fault, and there was something he told me that I’m going to tell you. “Pain makes the most terrible of villains, but it also makes the strongest of heroes,”  _

It only brought more tears to his eyes which immediately began cutting through the ash on his face. Ben in an uncharacteristic show of affection sat beside him without hesitation, wiping the soot away with his sleeve.  Reed and Susan cluttered in the doorway then, a knowing look in their eyes. The only one out of the loop being Ben, who seemed to figure out he was missing something quickly and dutifully made room for the two to comfort the boy. 

* * *

It wasn’t in her nature to scream, but as she hit send and curled up on the floor of her lab, Shuri tore her throat screaming. Dreaming her friend was not dead, and was whole enough for her to put back together. 

His death was unfair and that is what crippled her lungs, for she knew death wasn’t the end. The world did not stop at the loss of one soul and she could not either. T he only thing left Shuri could do is what he’d done for her, had done for her people when they were under attack. She’d fight, hear the call to arms, she’d do what her new job entailed and _Avenge_ his death. In time she would, although for these few minutes she could let herself feel his loss as physically as a flesh wound.

It didn’t take long for the princess to be surrounded by the Dora Milaje, the women tasked to protect the girl from something they could not protect her from. Grief. 

* * *

Victor entered the run down SHIELD base in the same way one would enter their own home. His head high and power oozing with each step, his presence garnering the attention of every agent in the room.  He knew it wasn’t just their gaze he’d caught but their crossfire as well as hundreds of guns were drawn, all of them aimed at his head.

“Halt!” they shouted uselessly as he continued his steps, standing before the woman he inferred was running the place for now in Fury’s absence.

Maria Hill looked back at him unflinchingly, as the sound of a bow’s drawstring panged in his earpiece, the sound different from the recordings of Hawkeye. Smaller, meaning his mantle had likely been passed down to someone new, and someone who like the rest were all too willing to shoot.

“I have information, I have more than that. I have the future. One you will want to avoid, one you can only avoid with my help. The End of all things is coming, and she’s coming for us all,” 

Maria’s face pinched, knowing to take every account with a grain of salt while being far too paranoid not to listen to someone's cry of ' _the end of all days'_ after those five long years.

“I’m listening,” 

“I’m afraid I'll have to request a bigger audience, you alone are simply not enough,” Victor explained with an unhidden arrogance in his tone. He wouldn’t have come all this way for just her ears, she should have known that. 

“Who?” the arrogance in his voice brought out the annoyance in her own as she bit back.

“Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Wanda Maximoff,” he requested with a roll of his tongue. Maria, unable to do anything else conceded.

“I’ll let them know,” the words were the ink on their death certificates, not that she would know, not now, she would soon enough, he’d ingrain their blood in the whites of her eyes until she wept their blood in her grief.

The Griever would like that, they both agreed, the path they were on was written in blood.

**Author's Note:**

> do i hate myself for doing this to my bby everett? yes, it wasn't even planned but then I'm like :0 this is perf since this series is legit getting a second one
> 
> snap: allisonw1122  
> tumblr/twitter: webtrinsic1122  
> insta: webtrinsic


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